In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, salt and yeast. Add water and mix until a shaggy mixture forms. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and set aside for 12 – 18 hours. Overnight works great. Heat oven to 450 degrees. When the oven has reached 450 degrees place a cast iron pot with a lid in the oven and heat the pot for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, pour dough onto a heavily floured surface and shape into a ball. Cover with plastic wrap and let set while the pot is heating. Remove hot pot from the oven and drop in the dough. Cover and return to oven for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes remove the lid and bake an additional 15 minutes. Remove bread from oven and place on a cooling rack to cool.

I must begin by saying where the recipe originated, if in fact it originated anywhere…really. I think bread has been baked for centuries using flour, salt, water, and yeast or other form of leavening. As far as I know the recipe for “No-Knead” bread dough was printed in the New York times. I don’t know what month, day, or year. The originator is Jim Lahey of Sullivan Street Bakery. That’s all I know. I found the recipe in a booklet using enamel cast iron pots. At the time I posted the recipe I had no Jim Lahey even existed or I would have definitely given the man full credit for this wonderful bread and idea. That said….

Remember before beginning to create, that this bread is highly forgiving. Don’t stress over the fact that you haven’t proofed the yeast or that you’re not giving the dough a second rising time. It’s super duper sticky and will stick to your hands, feet and hair or anything else it comes in contact with. Play with the recipe for your location. Altitudes differ and that can affect the bread. This recipe is not your ordinary bread recipe. Just chill and follow the instructionsBreathe.

You do NOT have to have an enamel covered cast iron pot. You can use anything with a lid that can take the heat. I use a 5.5 quart cast iron pot. My oval pots are about 7 quarts.

You DO NOT need to oil the pot. At least not in a enamel covered cast iron or regular cast iron pot. I have never had problems with the bread sticking.

In a large mixing bowl add 3 cups white unbleached flour.

To the flour add 1 3/4 teaspoon salt (I use kosher I like it) and 1/2 teaspoon rapid rise or instant yeast.Note: Regular active yeast can be used in place of the instant or rapid rise yeast. It will need to be activated in 1/4 cup warm water. Stir and let sit for 5-10 minutes. However, most of the comments I have received state that the rapid raise works the best. You choose.

Whisk the flour, salt and yeast together.

Add 1 1/2 cups water.

Mix in the water. I love these “spoonula’s”. I use them all the time.

That’s it! The dough will look like a shaggy mess. That’s ok.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it set for 12 – 18 hours on the counter top. DO NOT REFRIGERATE. This is not optional. It takes that much time to proof the dough. The reason why you need a large bowl, is because the dough will start to rise.

After 12 hours the dough will look like this. It’s pretty sticky, but that’s ok it’s supposed to be.

Meet my blue Le Creuset. It’s so awesome. Preheat your oven to 450 degrees. As soon as it has heated to 450 degrees place your pot with the lid in the oven and pre-heat the pot for 30 minutes.

Right after you put the pan in the oven to preheat, dump the dough out onto a HEAVILY floured surface. I love my pastry cloth. Use it for everything.

Now, please disregard that this dough has stuff in it. I’ll get to that later. I just forgot to take a picture of the plain version. This dough has also been doubled so it’s twice the size of a single batch. After you dump the dough on to a floured surface shape it into a round ball. This will rest for 30 minutes while the pan is heating.

After you shape the dough cover it with the plastic wrap that was over the bowl. Yes, I know I have two loaves of bread. It’s because I doubled the recipe. You can do that.

Remove the pot from the oven and carefully pick up the ball of dough and drop it into the pot. You may want to flour your hands, because the dough is going to stick like crazy. Remember the pan is now 450 degrees hot! Be careful. Put the lid on the pot and return it to the oven for 30 minutes.

I am baking two loaves at once. Please notice how used my Le Creuset pots are. Everything is my kitchen is heavily used. If you have any advice as to how I can clean my babies, please let me know.

Close the oven door and bake for 30 minutes. Wait until you see the next picture. This will blow you away!

Holy cow! Can you believe how gorgeous that is. When you put the dough into the pan, it looks like a shaggy mess and when you take of the lid, you have a masterpiece. Remove the lid from the pot and continue to bake for another 15 minutes. This is when you can start patting yourself on the back while telling yourself how awesome you are…because you ARE.

I just have to show you more pictures of the bread after the lid has been taken off. Scroll down and enjoy the beauty.

This is the finished product. Remove from the oven and carefully remove bread from the pot. Remember the pot is HOT. I use a couple of hot pads and carefully pull out the bread.

Place the bread on a cooling rack until completely cooled. That’s it! You did it! How easy was that? Now I’m going to show you just how much fun you can have with this recipe. It’s time to start creating different flavors. I’m going to show you two different kinds of bread that I have made.

The first is Rosemary, Lemon and Gruyere. This is the recipe I doubled. So now all those chunks in the dough will make sense in the earlier picture.

Remember I doubled the recipe. In the large bowl I have 6 cups flour, 3 1/2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon yeast. After I wisked those ingredients together I added the zest from two lemons, some chopped rosemary (I didn’t measure, sorry) and about 2 1/2 cups shredded Gruyere.

Mix all the ingredients together well and add 3 cups water (remember doubled). Stir until you have a shaggy dough. Cover with plastic wrap and let set 12 – 18 hours.

This is what the dough looks like after 12 hours. Now you can do what I did earlier. Heat the oven to 450 degrees. After the oven has heated put the covered pot in and heat for 30 minutes……. If you can’t remember the rest, scroll up and refresh your memory.

Next flavor.

Cranberry, orange and almond. I didn’t double this batch. In my large bowl I have 3 cups flour, 1 3/4 teaspoon of salt and 1/2 teaspoon yeast. Add about 3/4 cup cranberries, orange zest from one orange and about 1/2 cups sliced almonds. Mix it together well and add 1 1/2 cups water. Stir to form and shaggy dough.

I will now show you pictures of the bread I have baked. Just scroll through the beautiful loaves of bread.

Two loaves I added shredded sharp cheddar. One is plain.

Cheddar sliced.

Cranberry, orange, almond in front and the back loaf is a seeded loaf with pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds and poppy seeds.

Here are the two loaves of Rosemary, lemon and Gruyere, the cranberry, orange, almond and a plain loaf.

I really don’t need 4 loaves of bread so I’m wrapping them up in a dish towel and I will deliver them to four wonderful blondes that I start my morning with everyday.

That’s a cute little gift.

I’m now going to give you some homework. Start creating new bread flavors. I’ll share with you the bread my son and I have made. Oh, just to let you know, we have been creating so much that I have gone through 75 lbs. of flour since January. NO, I haven’t eaten it all. I give it away.

Our bread flavors: Pepper jack cheese, Jalapeno cheddar, Raisin walnut cinnamon, Pumpkin sunflower poppy seed, Sharp cheddar, Rosemary lemon Gruyere, Lemon thyme Asiago, Asiago, Mixed herb with rosemary, chives and thyme and plain. Now I have to tell you that I have experimented using wheat flour. Whole wheat was WAY too heavy. I tried adding just 1 cup wheat flour in place of 1 cup of white…ahh it was ok, but not great.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, salt and yeast. Add water and mix until a shaggy mixture forms. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and set aside for 12 – 18 hours. Overnight works great. Heat oven to 450 degrees. When the oven has reached 450 degrees place a cast iron pot with a lid in the oven and heat the pot for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, pour dough onto a heavily floured surface and shape into a ball. Cover with plastic wrap and let set while the pot is heating. Remove hot pot from the oven and drop in the dough. Cover and return to oven for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes remove the lid and bake an additional 15 minutes. Remove bread from oven and place on a cooling rack to cool.Print this recipe.

I have created a new page for all questions that you might have regarding this recipe. On this page you can send in your creation ideas or helpful hints. I hope this will make it easier to receive questions to answers that you might have regarding this recipe. Click on this link to ask any question you may have:http://www.grapefruitandtoast.com/2012/08/31/crusty-no-knead-bread-foru/

FAQ’s

Q: Do I have to use an enamel covered cast iron pan?

A: NO. You can use anything that can take the heat. The following have been used that I know of:
Clay pots with lids, Pizza stone with a bowl to cover the bread, insert from a crockpot, pyrex baking dish with a lid, stainless steel pot with a lid, baking dish covered with aluminum foil, old cast iron dutch oven.

Q: Do I have to use unbleached flour?

A: I always use unbleached flour. You can try bleached flour.

Q: Can I use self rising flour?

A: I don’t know. I would just stick to all-purpose.

Q: What size is my pan?

A: My smallest pan is 5.5 quart. You can use as small as a 3 quart.

Q: What type of yeast do I use?

A: I use SAF instant yeast. Any yeast should work.

Q: Why is my bread turning out flat?

A: I don’t know. You could try using less 1/4 cup less liquid. Or add a bit more flour. Make sure you dough appears to be dry when you first mix it. It will have more moisture during the rising time.

Q: Can my dough sit out longer than 18 hours? Does it HAVE to be between 12-18 hours?

A: I have let some dough sit as long as 24 hours and the bread was beautiful.

Q: Have you tried Gluten-free?

A: No. I’m still waiting for someone to venture into the realm of Gluten-free. If you try it, let everyone know.

Q: Do I have to grease or oil the pan? Will my bread stick?

A: No you don’t need to grease the pan. I have never had the bread stick when using a cast iron pot. I haven’t tried anything else. The best way to be certain that the bread won’t stick is to form the loaf on a sheet of parchment paper and lift the bread into the pan using the sides of the parchment. Leave the paper in the pan. It’s won’t burn. When the bread has baked, just lift the sides of the parchment out of the pan. Voila!

This note added 3/15/12: I tried Rye bread. It was delicious. I tried two different recipes. One was 1/2 rye flour and 1/2 white flour then added 1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds. For the first time it didn’t rise much. The loaf was about 2-inches high. Made great focaccia, however. The second loaf was 1 cup Rye flour and 2 cups white flour, 1/2 teaspoons caraway seeds. I sprinkled caraway seeds on top. It turned out wonderful and made some fabulous pastrami, Swiss and grilled onion panini’s.

This note added 3/14/12: for all of you that have commented within the past few days, please scroll to the bottom of the comment page. Notice “load more” click on that and more comments will appear. I have been trying to keep up with all comments. I just want you to be able to find your comment and my answer. If all else fails send me your email address and I’ll shoot you a response. Thank you so much for all the comments and ideas. Love them!

(Added 3/10/12) Let me start by saying that you DO NOT need to oil, grease or PAM your cooking pot. I have not had the bread stick yet. You’re going to have to trust me on that advice. I have had many people ask what size pot I use. In this post I am using a 5.5 quart enamel cast iron pot. This size is perfect. I am also using an oval pot that is about 7.5-8 quarts. I have had comments that ceramic deep dishes work well. Scan down through the comments to see other options for baking.

Gluten Free photo sent from Star:

Star’s recipe for GF bread: Hi, I just wanted to let you know that I love this bread so much and have made it many times with great success. Today was the first time I tried to make it gluten-free. I thought I’d share my experience for anyone who is wondering. I made absolutely no changes to the recipe. I simply used all purpose gluten-free flour (which already contains the correct amount of xanthan gum; more specifically, I use Jules Gluten Free Flour) in place of regular all purpose gluten-free flour. I made no other changes. No changes to amounts. I probably left it in the oven about 7 or so minutes longer. Very crunchy on the outside. I didn’t let it brown much at all because felt it would get too hard — it was already very crunchy. The inside was not as I would have expected. It’s almost more raw-like. That’s probably not the right word. It was more gooey? — Just not as dry-like/bready….it was just different. But it tasted very good. And tasted like the crusty bread made with regular white flour. Didn’t taste any different for being gluten-free. It also smelt just as good. It was smaller. In fact, I really don’t think it rose. I wonder if you could just by-pass that step when you use gluten-free flour (I’ve heard gluten-free breads don’t really rise) of having it sit overnight and just pop it in the oven right away. But it was very good and everyone loved it. And it got eaten just as fast as the regular version.

Reader Interactions

Comments

Hey Janet this is great! Just bought some freshly milled local flour and I'm going to use your recipe this next week. I'm not a big bread person but your cheesy bread at grandpa's house was just so good that I have to try it myself. Hope you're doing well!

Hi Janet,I have a question if I wanted to make this into a poppy seed bread, what would yousuggest as a sweetener? The lemon zest will be great, but I think the bread is usuallysweet. I have never had it so I'm not sure. My husband lo es bread. I'm so excited to makeitThank you,Darlene

Janet I found this recipe last night , just had to try it. I didn't have fast raising yeast so I put a tsp of regular yeast in the water with a tsp of sugar to help it raise. Also I used regular flour. I only had a corning wear pot, I was scared to use the glass cover so I used my cast iron skillet to put on top for a cover, I just removed the skillet bread looks heavenly .Now waiting to eat it.

THIS BREAD IS SENSATIONAL! I have yet to figure out how to post.. I can access "Reply As"… but where to post is eluding me! I inverted a cast iron frying pan over a cast iron chicken fryer pan and produced an beautiful loaf of Artisan like bread! I'd love to share pictures… but.. I have to figure it out. Janet.. save me…lol

Well, I made my bread–who'd've thought you could recreate a steam oven in cast iron. The bread is gorgeous. My first attempt failed, but it was a fault of a very dry batch of flour. For the second attempt, I used 2 1/2 cups water instead of 1 1/2 cups. I could probably do with 2 to 2 1/4 next time, but the dough held its shape just fine. Next up, flavors! Personally, I'm thinking roasted garlic and herbes de Provence.

The first loaf is making vanilla bean French toast tonight… YUM. Thanks for the great recipe. This will undoubtedly be a keeper. Gorgeous stuff, Janet! Thanks for sharing!

Thanks for mentioning the fail, I just pulled my loaf out and it looks more like a biscotti 🙁 I noticed it didn't look like it had risen very well. Not exactly sure what I did wrong. I used instant rise yeast, and regarding the flour, I am not exactly sure which I used, could have been a white wheat, i forgot to label my jars and they look the same….wondering if these are the culprits or if I needed more water?? Frustrated 🙁

So what are we talking about for home temperatures during the long rising stage? I've read recipes which require a long rising, but actually stipulate proofing the dough in the refrigerator! And I would think that whether the proofing takes place during the cooler night hours or during the warmer day hours would make a difference.

Steve, I have let the dough proof during the night as well as all day. No difference. Just let it sit on your counter for 12-18 hours. It just works. It seriously is amazing. Follow all of the other directions. It also rises differently depending on what additions you throw in. No matter – it just works!

I did it! I used wheat flour, but I made a few changes. I used 1/4 cup flour less and 1/2 cup more water and cooked it 5 less minutes. But it perfecct! I feel like such a cook! Thanks my husband will be so proud! -COurtney ENgland

I love to add nuts as well. I made a chocolate chip, walnut and dryed cranberry… it was AWESOME! In fact I have made several Loaves of this bread. I have made them back to back. I mean to say, I took one loaf out of the pan. Returned the pan with the cover to heat up for 20 min and added another loaf to bake. Also my Ceramic Cast Iron dutch oven, Looks just as your does Janet. Well Used and Well Loved…

Janet, try making a paste of soda and hydrogen pyroxide. I used this to clean my ceramic stove top and it worked beautifully! Even used my fingertips to do it! Should clean most everything. The left over paste I cleaned my dirty oven door!! I could not believe what it did!

Dawn makes a product called "Power Dissolver." Very difficult to find but my Ace Hardware ordered it for me. Works wonderfully on baked on, dried on stains. Spray it on dry pan and then be patient. Should scrub right off after 15 to 20 minutes

Try baking soda (1/2c) mixed w/ 1/2c vinegar and about 1tsp dawn. It will foam like crazy. I just mix it in my sink then add some hot water. Soak 15 minutes or longer. You will be shocked with the results!! Good luck

I use the powdered Bar Keeper's friend on my Le Creuset pots, and it works better than anything I've tried. (I don't think the liquid formula works as well –on pots or anything else–and the dry one is not too abrasive. (It can be bad on the hands though.)

I was going to post about the Bar Keeper's Friend also, 🙂 that stuff is amazing! I had OLD copper bottomed pots that belonged to my gran back in the day and now are mine. When I first got them you really could not tell they had copper bottoms but one .99 cent can of Bar Keeper's Friend and now ALL my pots and pans look new, well except for the dings.

I don't know if this would work for your pots but the coated cast iron burners on my stove were gross, and I put them in a garbage bag outside on the porch and poured in about a cup of ammonia and let them set sealed in the bag overnight and the gunk wiped right off. I don't think it would hurt your cookware.

I have had my Le Creuset for 30year and they still look like new. I currently clean the dirty ones with a combination of Dawn dish detergent, Oxyclean and a touch of Clorox. I would worry about scratching with Bar Keepers friend-though I do use that on my stainless cookwear.

Please DO NOT use bar keepers friend on your Le Creuset pots. It will dull the finish…no more shine…EVER! I use baking soda and make a simple paste and good ol' elbow grease. Le Creuset might even make a cleaner…

I've used salt mixed with oil, like olive, and used a green scrubby pad to scrub the burned yuck off. I then washed with dishsoap, and in the rinse sink half i had vinegar water to degrease it. You could also use scrubbing bubbles bathroom cleaner only on the outside. Spray it on, let it sit 20 mins, then scrub. Be sure to rinse really good. I even use the scrubbing bubbles on my glass top stove and it always looks like new. I wash with the cleaner, then rinse with a tea towel drenched with vinegar water then dry with paper towels.

Hi, I tried the Bar keepers Friend the spray formula as well as the powdered kind and nothing budged that Loved affect on my pot.. So I say, it's not there for looks it's there to show how well used and loved it is…

I was going to recommend the same! I use the powder and it's awesome. I'm sure the liquid is great, too. You can't go wrong!Thanks for sharing this wonderful recipe — I haven't tasted mine yet, but it sure looks gorgeous!

You may want to try Mr. Clean Magic Erasers (non-name brand work just as well) to clean the outside of the pots. I would NOT use on the inside and be sure to rinse well. For the magic they do, I can't help but think they could be bad for your health if ingested….

Bon Ami (powder) is similar to Barkeepers Friend – I use Bon Ami on my Le Creuset as well as stainless, glass, corningware, everything, and it's awesome. Cuts straight thru all kinds of grease and crud.

if you have a self cleaning oven you could put it through the cleaning cycle with any of your pots if they can withstand the heat..whatever is cooked on will turn to ashes and wipe clean! works great for cookie sheets, pizza pans, cake pans…etc.

Consult a Norwex sales person. (Don't buy it on Amazon. That's not the real thing.) It's a home based business and they sell wonderful cloths and cleaning items. Your pans will not be scratched and will look new again.

I always use the powder. Also scrubbing tough spots with a lemon. I'll let the pot heat up with water. Cut a lemon in half, dip it in salt, then rub it over the spots. Then scrub with a scratch free scouring pad Alternatively, use a cleaning product with orange oil as the active ingredient.

I just tried a no knead bread in my dutch oven and was so excited with how beautiful it came out. Your variations and flavors look delicious, can't wait to try them. As far as cleaning your Le Creuset, the company sells special cleaner just for their pots.

Hi Mysterysinc, Yes you do add the addtional ingredients with the flour and yes it does sit out for 12 hours+. I have not had a problem doing that with the cheese. If you are uncomfortable letting it sit out, you could try to stir it in before baking. I've done that and it is more difficult to get the cheese incorporated in. The Gruyere, rosemary and roasted garlic sounds FABULOUS! Good luck.

Hi Amy, I'm glad I'm not the only one that has to lock up the bread. When I made the cranberry/orange/almond, I ate the entire loaf!! Hey wouldn't that be so great with left over turkey and cranberries! I'm so doing it!

IT WORKED, IT WORKED!! I needed more flour. I have made an Italian spiced one, original, cranberry, orange and nut. I'm so excited. I'm going to try a maple nut one next. now I want another pot, thanks 🙂

I also tried with much success and people were impressed with the orange juice cranberry one I tried. basically I am trying different liquids other than water. the oj did bring out a slightly sourdough taste to it too. I am thinking it is because of the citric interacting with the yeast. not sure though.

Heck no! I think the skies the limit on flavors. I'd love to hear how your bread turns out. The males in my house are bacon lovers…I just didn't even think to add it to the bread. Ooo how about bacon/cheddar???

That was so much fun. Cassidy was a riot! Seriously she was lit last night. I did use this dough to make the pizza crust. I love it be cause the crust is crip and thin. I will get you the recipes. They actually came from a CPK cookbook that I have. One Crusty bread recipe will make two pizzas. I'll get you copies.

sorry I have not responded promptly, I have been out of town. You do not have to have a Le Creuset pot, but you do need a cast iron pot with a well fitting lid. The recipe will make one loaf of bread. Good luck. It seriously is so easy. My college son bakes this all the time. It's a no brainer. Good luck.

Oh yes, my son makes the best pizza dough. I have wanted to blog pizza's for a while. I'll get on that. However, I have used this recipe for pizza dough. It is very sticky, but I just use a lot of flour to roll it out. It makes a very crisp crust, which I love. I hope to get on the pizza blog soon.

I made the crusty bread left to proof for 13 hours cooked came out crusty but a bit doughy in centre cooked at 230 celsius which is 450f any advise please will try the gluten free one shortly when i master thisThanking you Sheila Smith

Hmmmm. Not sure. I've never used magnalite. You could give it a try. It just might work. As long as you have a tight fitting lid. It just might work. I know you need a heavy bottom pan or the bottom of the bread turns pretty dark.

I used a recipe similar to this in the past that called for the use of a typical stainless steel stock pot and lid… I had a BIG problem with the dough sticking to the pan. Do I need to worry about that with the Le Creuset?

This bread looks absolutely beautiful! Looking forward to trying it. Can you please confirm whether you used fast-acting yeast (ie, the type for bread machines) or just normal dried yeast that you normally reactivate in water? I assume the former but wanted to check. Thanks a lot, Lauren

Regular yeast works just fine. I just activated it in about 1/4 c warm water and subtracted 1/4 c from the total amount of water in the recipe. Perfect. Made it with roasted garlic and heaps of fresh rosemary. Outta sight.

Janet,I LOVE your site. How wonderful of you to create this for others! I "had" a recipe for Artisan bread from a group I belonged to for Cast Iron collectors. I have a Wagner Dutch oven that I am going to try this with. I wonder though, should I put a wee bit of oil on the bottom? I also have a LC, but it's SO big, oval.CANNOT wait to try your recipe!!!Thank you so much. BEAUTIFUL site!Nan

Hi Nan, I so glad you found my site. I really don't think you will need the oil. I'm not familiar with a Wagner Dutch oven. The bread bakes beautifully in a Lodge dutch oven without oil. Let me know how it works.

Oh man…………. I'm so not happy:( I put my first batch of this easy bread into my oven and it is on it's last leg of the journey…. the last fifteen mins…… I can tell though that it's not looking good for the home team! LOLThe loaf is looking very small and dense. What did I do? It looked GORGEOUS while "rising" nice and bubbly……. light.But when I went to take it out of the bowl, boy did it shrink up…… what did I do wrong?Oh and BTW, the Wagner Dutch Oven is a very old cast Iron Dutch Oven like the good old days, like Grandma used to cook with:):) Have any ideas of what I possibly did wrong?thanks!Nan

I'm so sorry Nan. Ok let's go through some of your steps. It does rise quite a bit during the 12-18 hour rising time. THEN I remove it from the bowl onto a heavily floured surface and form the dough into a ball. It DOES deflate. Cover the dough with the plastic wrap that was originally on the dough while the oven is heating. Put the dutch oven in the oven and heat for 30 minutes. Then remove the hot pan from the oven and carefully lift the dough and drop into the hot pan. Don't burn yourself. At this point my dough looks like a mess. Because it is so sticky, it just doesn't hold the same shape once dropped into the pan. Put the lid on and place in oven for 30 minutes. Remove lid cook another 15 minutes. When you remove the lid the bread should have risen. It should look beautiful. It is a more dense bread with a thick crust. ???? Let me know if this helps.

Hi Janet!Sorry for the long lag in my response.I did a little bit more reading and found that I should have been allowing my bread to rise another two hours after removing the dough from the bowl and shaping it into the ball. I did this and OMG was it delicious! My family absolutely loved it. So the key was an additional two hours on the counter before going into the hot Dutch Oven.YUMMY!nan

wonderful! I can stop myself from reading your recipes. I admires how crusty your bread look.Also I would love to have your 'le creuset pots'. I'm going to buy one, but I think the bread look kind of rough, may be because you dont knead them before baking them. Thanks anyway!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Le Creuset pots are so expensive, but love them. I have purchased Martha Stewart enamel cast iron pots at a fraction of the price and they work just as well. My sister uses a "Lodge" cast iron dutch oven for camping and it works great. It is a rough exterior. The dough is extremely sticky and really isn't kneaded at all. Looks rough, but tastes fabulous. I just made a loaf filled with chunks of pepper jack cheese last night. It was fabulous. Good luck.

I had both Martha Stewart and Le Creuset pots and I found that the Martha Stewart ones chipped very easily. I don't think they are worth the cost. My advice is spend the extra money on the LeCreuset (I get them at an outlet store) and they will last forever.

For some reason Anonymous your comment isn't posting. I'm not sure how watery your dough is. It's pretty sticky and doesn't hold it's shape much. Every time I lift the dough to put it in the pan, I make a big mess. It's sticks to my hands and so I plop the dough in the pan and it somehow always works. Let me know if your bread turns out. Next time add 1/4 more flour and see if that helps. Good luck.

I just saw this recipe on Pinterest, so I'm a little late to comment, but I think you should be citing your sources. It seems implied that this is your brainchild, but your repeated use of the word "shaggy" is a dead giveaway. YouTube "no knead bread" and you'll find the original baker who developed the recipe as it was run years ago in The New York Times.

I think you need to read a little more carefully Anon March 2…because the blogger clearly states at the top she clearly underlines that the recipe is from Le Creuset – plus I'm not a fan of your in-your-face posting. This is a fun arena where fun people share their thoughts – go be Debbie Downer somewhere else, ok?

" As far as I know the recipe for "No-Knead" bread dough was printed in the New York times. I don't know what month, day, or year. The originator is Jim Lahey of Sullivan Street Bakery. That's all I know. I found the recipe in a booklet using enamel cast iron pots. At the time I posted the recipe I had no Jim Lahey even existed or I would have definitely given the man full credit for this wonderful bread and idea." – copied and pasted from the top of Janet's blog post.

The first paragraph of the page is the disclaimer that she is not the originator of the recipe… she's just passing on the great info.

That being said… I, too, found this on Pinterest… I can't wait to try this! I need to see if my stainless steel pot has a lid! (Although Christmas is coming up… maybe I'll ask my hubby for an enameled pot! LOL)

serious? who cares where it came from. I'm pretty sure most everyone on this forum would agree that it's fabulous for Janet to share/pass on the recipe. There are so many recipe snobs who don't want to. I say Thank You Janet for sharing!:)

She does give credit 🙂Even the NYT article explains that this is a tried and true technique (versus a recipe)- it is all over the web- but not with such purty pics! Plus "shaggy" is a VERY common word for making doughs- I have way too many bread books and many use that word.

Janet, I love the beauty of this bread and am already craving a loaf! I recently baked a loaf with kalamata olives & pine nuts at a friend's house, but it took a ton of prep, a grain grinder and a dough kneader! What you've just posted is every bit as beautiful and I can tell from the comments delicious, too! I haven't broken in my new Le Creuset dutch oven, yet – my friend just got it for me on sale with a coupon at Macy's for $25 – so this is the perfect debut! 🙂 P.S. I also admire how you respond to each comment. Few bloggers do that and it's so helpful to actually see all of the answers to questions I now won't have to ask!

First of all, Janet, I think you are the best blogger I have ever experienced. You are so thoughtful to respond to almost every comment even when it's been a repeat question! I don't have the right pan w/lid to make this delicious looking bread but I will start looking. P.S. it also tickles me that I've found a soul-sister who still says "holy cow". 🙂

me too, me too, me too! Holy Cow, whod-a-thunk? I cook for our Cursillo weekends for about 85-100 people and this recipe for bread does the trick. Several women bake and bring 2-4 loaves, it's a bonding thing. Of course we could buy some, but why??!!

Thank you so much for sharing this recipe! I tried the basic loaf last night (lasted about 10 minutes between 3 of us) and have two more going today–fig/walnut/bleu cheese and swiss/tarragon/cracked pepper. I can't wait to try some of the other suggestions!

kswinarski@nc.rr.com I am a total lover of baking breads. I have tried many many recipes and I do have to say this was the best flavored bread, and easiest bread to make. Thank you for sharing this and your other great recipes with us.

I made this bread today and I just HAD to share with you how I made it! I used my slow cooker, and it turned out BEAUTIFUL. Being a newlywed, I don't have a full collection of all the fun fancy kitchen gadgets, so reading through these comments got me thinking. I was dying to try this out, but didn't want to splurge on a dutch oven. So, I made the dough as you directed (so easy, I'm in love!!!!). Instead of putting it in a dutch oven to bake, I placed a piece of parchment paper inside my crock pot, placed the dough on top, and turned my crock pot on high. It baked for about 2 hrs. The crock pot gave the same effect as a dutch oven would. Once it felt "done" I took it out. The top crust is soft, but the bottom is nice and crispy. I guess if you wanted a nice soft bread, you could stop here. But I am all about that crispy crunchy crust. I put it under the broiler in my oven for 2-3 min (don't do any longer! I made the mistake of walking away and burned it by leaving it in to long!). It is delicious, and doesn't heat up my tiny apartment like the oven would.

Thank you for this recipe! I am so inspired, I now have 3 loaves rising on my counter as I type. A delicious smelling garlic and parsley loaf, and two tomato basil loaves. Hooray!

Can't wait to try this recipe. I do have a LaCruset French oven so will be perfect. My friend has the same kind of pot that she got at Sams and it would work really well too The cost is a fraction of the laCruset. Both are enameled coated cast iron and both have a life-time warranty.

I baked my first batch today and it came out perfect so I decided to make one with some parmesan cheese. It's been rising for about 8 hourse and I noticed it has some discolored spots and flecks. I'm concerned that it could be mold. Have you ever had this happen? I had it covered tightly with plastic wrap so I don't know if that caused the problem.

Ya know…that does happen when I mix in things. I really don't think that it's mold. I think it's just the flour. It is like when you put pancake batter in the refrigerator overnight and it darkens a bit??? Have you ever had that happen? I'm sorry that I don't know exactly what it is, but it does go away during baking. I haven't worried about it. I hope this helps????

Tried this the other day in my cast iron Lodge dutch oven and it tasted awesome! The only thing is it rose perfectly in the covered bowl (sat on counter for about 17 or more hours)and when I took it out of the bowl and laid it on the flour it deflated. I covered it while the pot was heating and after it cooked it still didn't rise. Maybe I should've added more yeast? I did as instructed except I added sharp cheddar cheese a little garlic powder and some dried basil. You think that could've affected the rising? Even though it didn't rise it still tasted great. Any tips would be greatly appreciated! Thanks for sharing such an easy and delicious recipe!

I have not had that problem. Be careful not to work the dough too much after removing from the bowl. I just gently scrape it out of the bowl onto a flour surface and gently form into…something that resembles bread. Don't knead or work the dough after the rising time. I hope this helps.

I've used a similar recipe for years, that can store in the frig for up to a week. THIS one sounds great.. I'll be trying it really soon as I love a good Bread. Love the various flavorings folks are using. Cast iron is good for everything!

My plain version is sitting on the counter as I type this! Can't wait to bake it and taste it tomorrow! One question: how do you know how much extra ingredients to add for different varieties? I want to try a cinnamon raisin but I don't know how much to add! Thanks

Oh geez, I just guessed. I usually add about 1 cup cheese when I use it. With raisins about 1/2 cup. Depends on how much you want studded into you bread. I probably added 1 tsp. cinnamon. You can just play around with the ingredients. The dough may look loaded when you first mix it, but as it rises and bakes the add-ins spread out.

I soaked some raisins in water with some cinnamon mixed in. Then I made the dough and let it rise. When it was done rising, I spread the dough out as flat as I could without handling it too much, sprinkled it with cinnamon and brown sugar and the raisins patted dry. Then I rolled it up and squooshed it into a ball. Bake as usual. Oh. My. Sweet. Jumping. Jehosephat. The smell of it baking brought three different neighbors knocking on my door!

I don't have a cast iron pot. I'm really anxious to try this out but I'm scared of what I can and can't put in the oven. Can you put a crock pot insert with the lid in the oven without any problems? Help….

Two attempts now it's just not rising. It's yummy, but very dense. Any suggestions as to why? I am in Colorado at about 4,700 feet, so maybe I should change something to adjust for the high altitude? 🙁

My altitude is about 5500 feet. What about your yeast? Is is new. You can check in by mixing it with some water and letting it stand for about 10 minutes. If it foams that means its still alive and kicking. If it doesn't you may need more yeast. Also, try being very gentle with the dough while taking it out of the bowl. Don't knead or fuss with it. It is a heavy dense bread. It's not light and fluffy. I hope this helps.

I'm at about 6500ft and didn't change the recipe a bit (besides adding tasty things like garlic and herbs. I don't think you should need to alter it a bit. I use regular (not rapid rise yeast activated in 1/4 c warm water and it is perfect.

I live in Colorado, as well, and am unable to make this recipe here. This was a go-to recipe of mine in Austin – it always blew people away, but little did they know it was so easy. It definitely does not turn out anywhere close to how it is supposed to at this altitude. Did you ever figure out how to make it work?

I mistakenly used bleached flour and I think that did make a small difference in overall quality (slightly gummy center, instead of a chewy crumb), and the crust was super crusty – difficult to slice – I'll wait until it cools more next time – but otherwise this is the best bread recipe I've ever tried!

I'm excited to make this! I do have a suggestion for your pots and how to clean them. Have you heard of Norwex? If not – YOU NEED TO! Their cleaning paste would work wonders on your pot – inside and out of it. I have used it on my sterling silver pots I thought were 'burned' on the bottom forever – and it make it like new! Seriously try it. I have a friend who sells it and if needed, she can order you some and ship it to your door – wherever you are.

Since she didn't reply, I'll tell you that you should truly check out Norwex for your cleaning. I found it in October and am hooked! (And I've been homemaking almost 40 year!) – I was so impressed that I became a consultant that very night, so you can contact me if you'd like more info.

Wow I too found the recipe on pinterest and it was exactly as you said….perfect….mine just came out of the oven.Just like your picture ….and yummy…. Can't wait to make it again with some additions ….Thank you so much for the recipe! I will be buying a pan for my daughter that is getting married in June so that she too can make some bread …. I did have the exact pan …well I have 2 and will be ale to double my recipes and really look forward to having fun with this recipe now…. So easy.

I put together 4 breads. They ended up having 20-22 hr sitting time before I got them in. I used orange juice in one and the wheat almost 1/2 and 1/2. Taste wise they were all great. I was disappointed that they didn't raise up as high as my previous try (more flat and no peak in the middle).

I don't think so. It could be the mixture of a heavier flour or the orange juice. You just have to play with it and see what works best. Sometimes my bread doesn't rise as much either. I don't stress over it.

omg, just ate the best bread! soak 1/3 cup of 10 grain cereal in h20 (about 3/4 cps water) for a couple hours. Mix 2 cps sprouted wheat flour, 1 cp white unbleached flour, and the rest of the regular bread recipe above. When adding the water, add the cereal at the same tine, with 1/4 cp molasses. Might not need as much water since the water in the grain cereal adds moisture. Follow as usual. WOW, this is so good my husband and I are chowing as we speak! Enjoy!

Wow…holy cow. I love to cook and this was so easy and beautiful I can't wait to use my own 100lbs of flour!! I used my le crueset 5.5 and I had a round covered casserole dish..rachel ray..from Kohl's…not cast iron. The rachel ray turned out better than the other (I'm really glad since I use it for nothing and my le crueset for EVERYTHING. Thanks again…best post ever!

Thanks so much for the info on the Rachael Ray Covered Casseround.I just bought one the other day at Kohl's so I could make this bread:(safe up to 500 degrees). I found the answer to my 1st question regarding to oil or not oil the pan first.I was really pleased with the info re: the Rachael Ray Casseround. You have made my day here! Now the next problem I have is I found out I don't have any yeast. However, I do have a couple boxes of sourdough bread mix for my bread machine. Can I use the sourdough bread mix for my loaf? If that is not an option I will just postpone my bread making until I have the proper yeast & ingredients. Thanks for the recipe though, I can hardly wait to try it!

I made the dough yesterday and it didn't seem as moist as you mentioned. Having baked bread other ways in the past, the dough I ended up with was the right amount of stickiness just to throw in the oven right then. When I dumped it out this morning to bake, it was a little bit more sticky but definitely not bad at all. I live at about 5,000 ft. Should I be adding more water?

I'm above 5,000 and I don't add more water. The dough is pretty stiff and first and does seem wetter as it sits. I'm not super accurate at measuring all of the time. Some days the dough is stiffer than other days. Some days my bread rises higher than other days. I'm ok with that. I try to take baking pretty easy and let what happens happen. C'est la vie.

I had a question. I have trouble forming mine into a ball. It just wants to spread out until it's an inch high disk on the cutting board, waiting in the flour for the pan to heat up. I let it rise for 18 hours. Is it too much water? I used all the correct amounts and don't live at a high altitude. Thanks!

Hi! I baked my bread today & it looks AMAZING! I put cheddar cheese & garlic in it. However, I cut a small slice & it appears a bit doughy. :0( I put it back in for 8 minutes, covered, I hope that will help. Have you ever had this happen to yours?

The only difference from your recipe is that I have a cast aluminum pan vs. cast iron. I did some research online & it appears that shouldn't make a difference, but could that be the culprit?

???Hmmmm. Well, the bread texture is denser than normal bread. It could be that it was just cut while too hot, but we generally cut into the bread as soon as it is out of the pan. You could try baking it longer. However you don't want the crust to be too dark or hard. Let me know what happens from baking it longer.

I may have figured out the problem with mine…I used your cheese measurement of 2 1/2 cups, but spaced that you were making a double batch! I only made a regular batch. Hmmm…extra cheesy bread I guess! LOL

Just made my first batch and it is bread heaven!!! i have tried to make bread so many times and have failed. will this work in roll form as well if so what do you think the baking time would be?thanks so much for sharing this.

Hi! I can't believe how easy & good this was! I thought for sure it wouldn't work….I mean, no kneading? no spraying the pan? But I did what you said and have a lovely loaf that I love! I can't wait to try some variations, but I'm horrible at not having a recipe. When you add other ingredients, how do you know how much of each additional items to add? Thx so much! 🙂

I have not tried gluten free. I was thinking about playing around with spelt and kamut since they have lower amounts of gluten. They would make the bread heavier than wheat, however.Let me know if you try it. My body handles gluten just fine…in fact it loves it. So I don't have to play around with gluten-free.

I just found this recipe and will be trying it in the next few days with GF flour. Pinterest has a great measurement conversion chart (you can find it in my cooking board – Julie Daech, if not by simple search). I have an all purpose GF mix that I bought and will try that first. Once I restock the pantry next week (if not before) I'll try with the conversion suggestions and I'll let ya'll know how it comes out.

Not sure what Im doing wrong. Im getting discouraged since everyone else seems to be getting it right. Im on my 3rd batch and the dough is doubling in size, but when I bake it in the enamel cast iron pot its flat like a pancake. Any suggestions??

Where do you live? I'm coming over! I just want to see what is going on in your kitchen. Read down a few comments and see what I have said about instant yeast vs. normal yeast. Try that. I actually had this problem yesterday while playing around with rye flour. I had a loaf do the exact same thing that you described. I make two loaves one with 1/2 rye flour & 1/2 white. The other loaf was 1/3 rye flour and 2/3 white flour. The 1/2 & 1/2 was flat as a pancake, but had a stronger rye flavor. I like the flat loaf, I just sliced it in half length wise and pretended it was foccacia. Let's keep in touch about your bread. You will succeed!

I had to buy an enamel cast iron dutch oven cuz I didn't have one, but it was worth it because last night I made my first loaf, baked it this morning and ate it for breakfast! It looked exactly like yours. I'm thrilled. I had lots of flour on the bottom of mine which made it kind of thick, so I thought I might try just a dusting of cornmeal on the bottom. Have you tried that? I want to use raisins and cinnamon in a loaf for tomorrow. This was SO easy and it's so pretty and was so fast. My dutch oven said not to put it cold, into a hot oven, so I just popped it in the cold oven and turned it on to 450 and it worked just fine. Thanks so much for the inspiration!

I have not tried cornmeal, but what the heck. Give it a try. I did however try the suggestion of placing the dough onto parchment then dropping it into the hot pan. Worked like a charm. I think I'll do that from now on. I like the crunch the cornmeal could give. Cornmeal tastes much better that flour. Thanks for your comment and helpful tip on pan heating.

I agree with you. I had baked some bread in my Lodge enameled dutch oven without trouble but it said to warm the pot up in the preheating oven. Then this time I put it in when it was already hot, and afterwards I found a bump in the interior bottom of the pot which then cracked off until there was a hole in the enamel the size of a 50 cent piece. I am very sad, as I used this pot a lot for cooking. I think I can still use it for baking though, since the bread will be dry. Maybe I'll put a piece of foil on the bottom for baking as I would rather not eat enamel. (And save up for a Le Creuset.)

You could have something there on the yeast. I only use instant. Try activating the yeast in a 1/4 cup warm water. Then add to the mixture. You will need to reduce the water that you put in, of course. I just wish I could just pop on over to your kitchen to see what's up. Let me know if the yeast thing works.

After a full 12 hours in the bowl after sitting all night it definitely looked like yours,however, when I removed it from the bowl the dough was still quite gooey and didn't really form a ball. After placing it on the floured surface it flattened out quite a bit (about 8 inches in diameter and 1.5 inches high) Did I do something wrong?

Are you using white unbleached flour? I think the whole grains do something funky to the dough. Let's start with the yeast. Are you using instant. That's all I use these days. If you are using regular yeast (not instant,) try dissolving it in 1/4 cup warm water. When it begins to foam mix into the flour and other ingredients. You could try making a stiffer dough. Reduce the water by 2 tablespoons for a start. ???

Just wanted to make a note about cleaning your Le Creuset.DO NOT use powdered bar keepers friend. It will dull the surface and NEVER be shiny again. Love the recipe and all the feedback. Thanks for posting.

I agree with the comment above about you being the best blog hostess. My loaf looked like a brain going into the pot. Did I not shape it long enough I was so scared to over work it. Mine just didn't look as tight as yours. Also, could you use beer instead of yeast and water?

Why thank you for such a great compliment. I'll consider myself the hostess with the mostess 🙂 I just wish I could come into everyone's kitchen that is having problems with rising. Maybe make a stiffer dough…less water??? About the beer…not sure on that. I've only used beer to kill slugs in my garden. But hey, it's worth a try. Let me know if you try it. I'd love to hear the results.

I've been making the bread from the book "Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day" for a while, it's basically the same thing, and learned that if you have a baking stone, you can use that with a large metal bowl to cover, and it does the same thing. I'm not one lucky enough to have any great cast iron (enamel or otherwise) but this works for me.

Hi all. in reading through all the positive comments I hope I am not repeating the question. I am wondering if anyone has tried using rice flour? I havew a glutton intolerant in the house and need a great bread recipe.I am going to try it but was hoping someone already had.

Well, just a report to let you know how it turned out in my enamel pot.When I took off the lid after it was hot I had the (lovely) odour of chilli – forgotten that I had cooked that the last time I used it! Anyway, it didn't seem to matter, the bread turned out perfectly! I used parchment paper but probably won't do that again as I found it awkward to get into the pot. But the bread – SOOOOO delicious and will be repeated very soon! Even my DH is eating it, and he rarely eats any of the bread I make!

Well I am a major procrastinator at times…. So after dough proofed for 20 hrs, I figured out I dd not have the right cooking container… Living n a very small town I went to 2 second hand stores and the pharmacy… No cast iron Dutch oven. Decided to use an old Corning clear brown glass Dutch oven container. Tuned out beautiful and YUMMY! Now my sweet husband has bought me a new bright red porcelain cast iron Dutch oven…. Think he has an ulterior motive….. He loved it too. Thanks for making me look good! LOL

Question. Does everyone here eat the whole loaf at one sitting? You say that wrapping in plastic wrap makes the crust soggy. So, what is the best way to save/store some leftovers without losing the crustiness?Jim

I did some research a while back and the best way seems to be to just let it sit out with the cut side down. That's how I've been storing my bread and it works well as long as the loaf gets eaten within a few days.

I clean my Le Creuset pans with a kind of paste made of dish washing liquid and kosher salt. It scrubs all the accumulation off, but takes a fair amount of work to do it. Best of luck & thanks for sharing this recipe.

I just purchased a porcelain enamel cast iron pot in blue. Beautiful! It is just like the LeCreuset pot and is my new favorite toy! This bread recipe has inspired me to experiment and become the bread baker of the universe! You are so awesome! Cindi

Hi, Janet – I found this a couple of weeks ago during a mindless Facebook/Pinterest browse and have been making a loaf of bread almost every day since! I've tried plain; dried apricot, almond and seeds; mixed grain/seed; rosemary and lemon (next time I'll add the gruyere); and kalamata olive and rosemary. The latter was the hero of my weekend camping trip in the Aussie bush, where it was devoured with a hard goats' cheese and washed down with chardonnay, between many exclamations of delight. Just one of those food perfection moments. I was fit to burst with pride. Thank you!

I have been using a similar recipe but have been substituting some of the water for 1/4 cup pale ale and 1 TBS white vinegar. It gives it a sour dough flavor. I also place it on a sheet of Pam-sprayed parchment paper then plop it in the Dutch oven. Yummy!

I just received my dutch oven and in the directions for use, it says NOT to preheat the dutch oven empty. I really want to bake this bread…….can anyone tell me if preheating the dutch oven empty will damage it? I can't imagine giving directions to preheat if it will cause damage. Help please….

I don't read directions, so never saw anything about pre-heating. I will say I've now preheated my bare cast-iron dutch oven about four times in two days, and nothing happened, so I'd say you're safe. 🙂

Love the ideas, thanks so much. I tried pepperjack cheese with roasted garlic and rosemary and it was fabulous. Now, I want to try some of your other ideas. Tried a multi-grain/seed variation with sunflower seeds, flax seed, oatmeal and raisins. It made a very dense loaf that didn't raise as much but was still really delicious. Also, can confirm that an enamel casserole dish with lid works fine and bread comes right out with no oil. Have also tried my crock pot liner and that works great for a larger option but be sure the handle is metal. I had to replace my original knob to be able to use it in the oven.

Hi! I'm wondering where you got the new knob for your crock pot liner as I'm interested in using my crock pot liner to make this bread. Please email me at compactkid14@gmail.com and let me know. Thank You!

Ok I've been trying bread/bisquits for years and no luck. I am now a SUPER HERO!!! YEAH!! I did find I had to add abut 1/2 more water to get all the flour. I also turned my oven down to 425 deg as the middle still seemed slightly wet while the outside was ready. Worked perfectly. THANK YOU!!! Bisquit recipe per chance?? hehe

Last year I discovered that brushing whole milk on top of biscuits, while sitting on counter for 20 min, helps them to rise to their full potential during the baking process… I'm 50 yo & still learning! Thanks Janet for the bread recipe & all the hours of replies you've posted, with tons of awesome hints. An easy bread recipe for a busy Home School Mama! Debora

I'm 2 hours into making this bread and have 2 questions. First can I split this and make one small loaf and one pizza crust? Second can I let the dough rise longer than 18 hours. I started this bread this afternoon and wouldLike to make pizza with it tomorrow but not at 6 in the morning. Could I possibly refrigerate it to use later in the evening? Thanks for this wonderful post.

Absolutely. You will want to adjust the cooking time for a smaller loaf. Just keep watching it. You can let the dough sit out for over 24 hours. I have without any problems. You don't need to worry about refrigerating the dough. It should work just great. Sorry I haven't responded sooner I have been out of town and away from a computer.

now that I have secured 2 pots for myself I with share something. Yes the french pots are expensive, and I was prepared to shell out some dosh to achieve what you did and shared. However, I found out that Kirkland, yes the Costco brand, sells these pots, and BTW they are made in France, even can use the same replace lip cap. Kirkland used to sell something similar, but it was made in China. They stopped selling that item and now it's from France, and the price, via Amazon, a nice jaw dropper http://www.amazon.com/Enameled-Cast-Iron-Quart-French/dp/B004YWKZQO/ref=pd_sim_sbs_misc_1 So I have included the link just in case anyone is interested in a better price but for something that is either Le C, under the Kirkland name. Can't wait to get mine and experiment with your recipe. Thanks

Kirkland is selling what I think are Le C pots under their brand, these are made in France. Yes Kirkland used to sell other ones but because they were made in China, folk wouldn't buy them. So their enameled pots now come from France, and the price is really really good. I bought two, and can't wait to experiment with your recipe. Thank you again.

I found a 6 quart dutch oven, made by Lodge, on Amazon for $50. It showed up yesterday and I immediately went to the store for supplies!! My Asiago / Sundried Tomato bread is proofing now!! CAN'T WAIT to slice into it tomorrow!! 🙂

WOW…I can't thank you enough for this post….This bread is the best thing ever and crazy easy… I can't believe I made such and amazing loaf of bread!! I added thyme, chili pepper, olive oil and white pepper, some dijon mustard on top and parmesan (lovely crust)… it's smells like a bakery in my own house!!

Fantastic Bread. I've been reading through the posts (as I didn't want to ask a question that has been asked a million times) and wondered if the bread is supposed to be a bit moist in the center? I know its supposed to be a bit denser but it is slightly moist and I wondered if I need to adjust my cooking times. THanks will still eat it anyways.yum

Can't wait to try this bread..But I have to..I need one of those pans..saving my pennies..LOL.. Have you tried easy off oven cleaner…they make it safer now, I can use it on my enamel stove…but not on painted areas..

I've now made more than a dozen loaves of this bread, in amazing combinations! One thing I discovered is you can use up all your old herbs when then are expired (2 tsps. per loaf). No need to throw them out when replacing with new fresher bottles. Also, I used bread flour for the first time today and I found it to be lovely as well as the all-purpose flour. Seems you can't go wrong experimenting with this awesome bread!

Your breads look amazing. I tried another recipe in my cast iron pot and they had you put your dough on a piece of parchment paper and to put a cookie sheet under the pot so the bottom didn't burn. Have you ever had any trouble with the bottom turning too brown or burning? Thank you!

OMG.. this looks amazing… sooo glad I found this on Pinterest; I'm German and miss my delicious bread here in the US and can't wait to give this one a try… I noticed that you used a spoon to mix it all up, would it work with a Kitchen-aid mixer as well or would that maybe be too much beating? Thanks for the amazing post…

Try putting your dutch oven in a large ziplock bag with 1/4 cup amonia and let it sit for 12-24 hours, the grime should just wipe away with minimal effort. I used this on my stove top grates and on my bbq grill grates that are enamel coated cast iron and it worked wonderfully. The fumes from the amonia break down the bond of the baked on grease.

So…I stumbled upon this through pinterest (my recent addiction in recipes) and thought "hmm…I like crusty breads, and I like easy baking….I'll try it." I honestly didn't think it would be that easy! I've only made bread once in my life…when I was 6…with my grandmother haha, so being 22 now I'm sitting there thinking "this cannot be this easy surely." But it was! I thank you for your wonderful recipe, I'm eating it right now and thinking of something else to add to the next batch. You're awesome 🙂

This recipe is fabulous! My friends and I have been making this for a while now (found it as no knead bread on YouTube). The only thing we do differently is that we cook it in stoneware with a stoneware lid/dome. Steams the bread the same. We still preheat it, and still cook it on 450. The stoneware works great too!

I suppose I could halve the recipe to fit in my 3 3/4 qt. Le Creuset multi-function pan? Or make a full recipe and bake two loaves from it…? How would the time/temp vary? I've baked other no-knead breads – including ones that you can keep dough in the fridge for up to two weeks before you bake it! Excited to try a new one!

Pinterest strikes again!!! This looks amazing! I have read through the comments and apologize if this question has already been asked: has anyone tried using different gluten-free flours? Does anyone have any advice as to how to make this recipe gluten free? I am gluten intolerant as is my daughter and we would LOVE to find some amazing recipes for gluten free breads etc… that we can make at home and won't cost a second mortgage to eat! Thanks so much!

Any idea how this would work with gluten free flour? I think I am going to try it with an all purpose gluten free flour blend and see how it works out. This looks so awesome. I can't wait to try it both with gluten free flour and regular flour. I love bread!!

Hey,Amy! How did your gluten free loaf come out? I'm thinking gluten free flours might need a tad more yeast. I know this post is kind of old, but I'm hoping to hear from ANYONE who has tried gluten free…

Thank You, Thank You, THANK YOU!!!!!! I recently moved from the west coast, were this type of bread if found everywhere and oh so yummy, to Florida, where I have had a very difficult time finding a bread with this texture, quality and crust! It was so easy to make, your pictures and easy flowing commentary was extremely encouraging. I have made this recipe twice now and the second loaf is better than the first, I can hardly wait to try the add-in's! Thank You SOOOOO Much for sharing this amazing and fulfilling gift of gourmet bread 🙂

Janet, you have inspired me and this morning pulled 2 wonderful loaves (the same 2 flavors you featured)out of my oven and I am now obsessed. Wanted your thoughts on using olive oil in the loaf, would I need to make any adjustments for flavoring with olive oil? Thinking of using sundried tomatoes and garlic with olive oil. Thank you thank you thank you!!!!

I made this bread today and it smells and looks amazing!!!! Mine was not as "big" so I'm hoping it still tastes the same. 🙂 I was wondering if you could use self rising flour in combo with the yeast and get the same effect? Thanks!

Thanks for the awesome recipe…I made a loaf and it wasn't very "big" so I'm hoping it turns out ok. I was wondering if you could use self rising flour with the yeast for this bread or would it totally screw it up? 🙂 Thanks for the help.

Wow! So many fun comments and so many questions. I hope to answer them all.

– Not sure about olive oil. It could turn out beautifully. I just dip my bread in the oil as I eat. let us know if you try it.

-I have not tried Gluten-free. I keep hoping someone does and pass on the results.

-If making a smaller loaf, I would keep the temp. the same and just adjust cooking time. Take the lid off and 20 minutes then just keep checking. Once the bread is nice and golden brown remove it from the oven.

– Yes you can use a ceramic crock pot insert or ceramic dish with a lid.

– Yes, I have had problems with the bread browning too much on the bottom. I will try putting the pot on a cookie sheet. Great advice. Thank you.

I just love all of your suggestions and advice and flavor combo's. You're awesome!

I am heart-broken. I went to make this recipe for a friend since she has just had knee surgery. I have a Lodge Logic enamel covered cast iron pot. I followed your directions, but what I didn't do was look up Lodge Lodgic's directions for use of their cookware. I ruined my pot while making this recipe. The enamel covering chipped off. The pot wasn't inexpensive, but I warn your readers that you must need a quite expensive pot to make this recipe. Wondering if I didn't heat up the pot empty, if the recipe would still work? That is what ruined my pot. Sigh.

I have asked this same question (about putting the empty pot in a hot oven) but haven't gotten an answer. That's one reason I bought the pot, to make this bread. One site for this same recipe even shows the Lodge Logic pot as an advertisement on the blog right under the recipe. Do you know that this was definitely the reason for the enamel cracking?

FIX FOR LODGE LOGIC: Hey guys, I, too, have a Lodge Logic cast iron pot and, fortunately, I read this post before attempting my recipe. After reading the directions for use carefully, I tried this and it worked: Fill your pot with water to allow it to warm up with something in it rather than empty. I used warm/hot water. Place it in the oven to preheat. It may take a little longer this way, but I just waited until my oven beeped that it was preheated. Then, very carefully, pour the water out. I took a thick towel (so as not to burn my hands) and gave it a quick wipe before adding my bread so it wasn't wet. My bread came out a little bit dense, but this was because I didn't allow it to rise as long as I should have, plus I'm at high altitude. Otherwise, it was great! My family scarfed it down.

If your pot says not to heat it empty, put a couple bags of dried beans in it while heating. Then just dump them out before adding the bread dough. Keep the beans, they can be used again and again for heating the pan (you can also use them in a pie shell if baking it without filling,the beans will keep it from bubbling up and having to be broken down to get the filling in). I doubt you would want to eat those beans though after heating them dry.

For those asking about pizza stones, you can use a concrete stepping stone from the hardware garden department. I learned that from Alton brown on the Food Network. You can probably find his pizza episode online somewhere, maybe Hulu or Youtube.

I use my Lodge to bake bread twice, then I did a stew type recipe, Washing it I saw a crazing and bubble on the bottom and when I touched it, it started chipping away. Now have abotu 50 cent size bare spot. It am sure it will still be good enough for baking, but I won't cook stews in it again.

I think the trouble must have been putting it into a 450 degree oven. It would probably have been better to let it warm up during the pre-heating to 150.

First time I made the bread, I placed the loaves ( I had two loaves ) on a large baking sheet and placed in the oven. I had a small cast iron pan that I placed on the rack below and put hot water ( I boiled it first ) into the pan and quickly closed the door. The hot water in the hot pan created some steam in the oven (more like humidty) which mimics the dutch oven or pot with a lid. Hope this helps. 😀

I didn't have the pan you used, or anything like it. I just heated water to boiling and put it in a pan on the bottom of my oven and baked the bread on a pizza stone. It turned out better than I thought it would (super crusty/crunchy exterior)……and looks like something you can buy at Panera.Thanks for the recipe!

Let's hear it for the Holy Cow Club!!! My oven is heating and my teenaged son is sitting here waiting for the bread. Forget the breadmaker…this is so easy! I hope it works in my Pyrex baker (and that it's large enough; forgot to check what size it was and it's in the oven).

Costco sells a Kirkland version of the Le Creuset and it's made in France and it's about 80 bucks! The outlet stores for Le Creuset often sell pans that are made in China and not in France and I won't buy those.

We use our Costco version and it's amazing and we returned our Le Creuset to Crate and Barrel.

If you're not a member, have a friend get you a $10.00 gift card and then you can go in and use it. They will let you in without a membership if you have a gift card. :0)

Let's hear it for the Holy Cow Club! My kids laugh at me 'cause I say that all the time. Hey, that way if they mimic me, at least they're not swearing for real! My first no-knead loaf is almost ready to finish uncovered, and it looks awesome. It barely fit in my largest Pyrex baker. I didn't feel like scrubbing my husband's rusty cast-iron camping gear, and I never thought I'd need one. I will be looking out for a baker now, for sure; maybe I'll find two, so my daughter can try this at her house. Forget the breadmaker…this is cheap and easy, my two favorite things to eat!

– I'm so sorry to hear about the lodge enamel pot. Now we know NOT to use that brand. I purchased one of Martha Stewart's enameled coated pots from Macey's and it works beautifully. No one wants to loose a pan.

– I'm happy to hear that a pizza stone and water work. NO YOU DO NOT NEED AN EXPENSIVE POT! LOOKS LIKE ANYTHING WILL WORK.

– just mix the dough until no dry flour is showing. Not long. that's why it's a no-knead bread.

– Congrats to the Holy Cow club. Can't wait to hear how the bread bakes in your pyrex.

Just don't heat those cheap enamel pots on the burner on high heat. The outside coating MELTS OFF onto the burner and leaves nasty holes and hot spots. Google for plenty of stories about those. I'm paying for stainless from now on.

I was praying this bread would taste awful. It doesn't. Damn it. Now I'm going to gain 10 lb. Not happy. But seriously, amazingly easy, DELICIOUS bread! My 8 year old son said he's going to bake 50 loaves a day and sell them! A seal of approval from an 8 year old says a lot!

I mentioned that my son and I went through 100 lbs of flour in just 2 months. We just had to stop making this stuff because we were both putting on the pounds. We just had to try one more flavor combo. You are right…Damn it!

Don't use your Lodge Enamel Pot. Read up a few comments. Someone tried it in her lodge enamel pot and the heat ruined it. Read the directions for the pot. Don't use heat higher than what the directions say. You could try baking only to that temp. ???? I'm sorry I don't have a lodge pot, so I'm not an expert.

You could try heating your pot with water in it, dumping the water and drying it out before putting your dough in it. I would extend the time to heat the pan just because the water will make it take longer to achieve the same tempeture.

This reply is very late, but you should NOT use the Lodge brand to make this recipe. My Sister in law did it and the pot kind of exploded and the enamel chipped off. I have a Cooks brand pot and a Kirkland brand pot and they both work well and can handle that high of temperature.

I bought the same one, but I do it anyway. Hasn't hurt the pot at all. (sorry, I just realized you posted this in April, so you've probably either figured this out by now or have gotten another pot. :))

Regarding cleaning your pots. Get the XXXL size ziplock storage bags. Put the whole pot in the bag with 1 cup of ammonia. Seal the bag and let it sit for about 36-48 hours. The grime will rinse right off. You only need 1 cup of ammonia because it's the fumes that eat the mess, not the liquid. I did this to clean my really gross Jenn-Air stove grates and they are now shiny and new!

I agree. I've cleaned my stove grates the same way and they look like new! My husband was quite amazed! I kept them outside overnight though because even in a zipped bad, I could still smell the fumes.

Awesome. I have the Jim Lahey book (and actually bought a kitchen scale to weigh the ingredients as recommended) and got better results with Janet's recipe and method. My jar of yeast is getting to the expiration date so I upped the yeast to about 3/4 teaspoon. I used a Scanpan 6 quart stockpot. Again, awesome.

I have used my Lodge pot making this bread at least 12 times now and I have not damaged my pot. I know the instructions say not to heat it empty, what I do is put the pot in the oven when I turn it on and then when the temp reaches 450, I put the bread dough in and return it to the oven. The bread turns out great and my family and all my neighbours love it. Thanks again for a great recipe………LOVE IT!

This looks like the same recipe Laura Calder of French Cooking gave a few months ago during one of her shows. She called it the Miracle Boule. I have made it with success dozens of times using plain old cast iron dutch ovens. I like you marveled at the crusty exterior and uneven interior holes as well as chewy bite. I shared this on my blog thehiddenpantry.blogspot.com

To answer a question from Anonymous: I pre-mixed the dry ingredients and the next day when I was ready to add the water, the yeast had clumped up into a hard shard. I think it was too moist in my house and the live yeast was reacting. I strained the mixture and started again.

I just finally came across your post. i think this is FABULOUS and I will try it out today. Lately, I have been on a huge bread making kick. I have been making dough in the bread machine and then forming my own french style loaves and baking them in the oven. I have been wanting more of an aritsan style though and I think this is right up my alley! Thank you so much for sharing this!

I made this for the first time today with rosemary, Gruyere, and cracked black pepper. It was delicious and turned out beautiful! I was so excited about the results that I mixed up a batch with cranberries, orange zest, and walnuts for tomorrow morning. I added about 1/2 t. cinnamon and 1/4 c. flax seed meal to see if it adds a little texture and fiber. My enameled dutch oven is one I got from Target about 6-7 years ago for $40. I think they now run about $60 at Target, but it works just as well as Le Creuset. Thanks for this great recipe! The hardest part of the recipe is waiting 12 hours to bake it when the dough smells so good!

– Storage: I just place my bread cut side down on a cutting board and leave it on the counter. By the end of the day…NO BREAD. You can store it in a plastic bag, but the crust will go soft. You can re-crisp the crust by putting in a 300 degree oven for a few minutes.

– All you your suggestions, tips, and flavor combinations are amazing. I really need to try peppercorns in a loaf. I'm a fan.

wrap the bread in wax paper and then put it in a plastic bag – LEAVING THE END OPEN. For those of us who can't eat the whole loaf, it keeps the crust crunchy, but still keeps the inside moist.This is how I store my hard cheeses in frig – they don't mold that way.

My cast iron Dutch oven isn't enamel coated….is this a problem? It has a cover, but isn't coated….very old…it belonged to my Grandmother. I hope you can see this comment and get a chance to answer soon cause I just mixed up my dough and it's proofing on the countertop now!!

I made this bread and it turned out pretty well for me. Loved the taste! The only thing is when I turned it out onto the floured counter and formed a ball, it flattened out quite a bit. So I was wondering, if letting it rise in a plastic bowl could have caused this? I followed the recipe exactly, and that is the only thing I could think of that was the least bit different! I will definitely be making it again!

I just made the recipe…The bread came out delish…Was scared because when I added the water it was not wet like in your pic….The end results turned out great……Thank you..I will never buy crusty yummy bread from a store again…..Now all I need is a good recipes for some jam…..

Thank you so much for this recipe! I ordered a Lodge Logic Cast Iron Dutch Oven from Amazon a couple of days ago. I knew it was coming today, so got the dough ready last night. We are eating it right now and LOVE it!

Wow, this looks amazing! I am going to try a version using frozen persimmons that I found at Trader Joe's and walnuts, raisins, nutmeg and cinnamon. If I practice now, I will perhaps perfect it by fall!

Made a double batch of dough last night and added mixed herbs and granulated garlic. Needed a bit more water than noted however when I went to bake it this morning……….OMG! The house smelled so heavenly! Couldn't wait to see the 30 minute mark when you take the lid off. I was impressed! I don't bake! LOL (well I guess I will now) After the bread baked for the final 15 minutes I pulled it out of the oven and VOILA! I let it cool for a bit however who doesn't love a piece of warm bread with butter! Yum, Yum, Yum! I already have another double batch of dough sitting and waiting to be baked tonight! LOL

Thank you, thank you! This bread turned out beautiful, it's cooling as I write, so I can't wait to slather butter on it! I went out and bought a dutch oven just so I could make this bread. I told my husband, it was a very costly first loaf! 🙂 As much as he loves my breads, I know he'll be fine with that!

I used my enameled cast iron pot by Lodge, the dutch oven makers. I got mine at Bass Pro Shops for about $40. It worked beautifully. I bet one of my well seasoned dutch oven that I use for buscuits when I'm camping would work just as well.Thanks for the great tutorial.

I made this wonderful bread today without any kind of a Le Creuset or Dutch oven. I put it in a baking dish and it turned out great! The only thing is I should have baked it longer. I had it in there for 36 minutes but it wasn't quite cooked. I think that 46 minutes would have done the job. Thanks so much for sharing!

I'm letting my bread baby rise right now. Every hour, I pop up and look in on it, like an anxious mother checking on a sleeping newborn! Can't wait until tomorrow to bake and eat it!!! Janet, you are truly sweet to answer all these comments and questions! God bless!

I didn't have the tools you mentioned so here's what I did. I poured the dough out on a cotton tea towel covered with flour, formed it into a round mound, put that on a round of parchment paper I'd cut slightly larger than the top of my crock pot. I heated a large Pampered Chef round pizza stone and the inside crock of my very old crock pot. I misread the directions and only heated the stone and crock for 10-15 minutes but that may have worked out for me. I was concerned about the crock getting that hot. Anyway, I put the parchment paper with the dough on the heated pizza stone and covered it with my heated crock turned upside down, like a cake cover. Removed the crock after 30 minutes as you would normally remove the lid of the dutch oven. Worked out GREAT!

You bread bakers are all SO amazing, creative, and innovative. I tip my hat to all of you. Over the weekend I tried a chocolate loaf. I had a comment sent in using cocoa powder and nuts. I jumped out of my chair and in less than 5 minutes had a chocolate, chocolate chip, pecan loaf on the counter rising. It was amazing and was gone before it had a chance to cool off. Thanks for the wonderful suggestions and helpful hints from all of you.

** We're looking for anyone that has tried making this recipe gluten-free. Any takers?????

Thanks for the great instructions. I've been making this bread (Sullivan Bakery recipe) for some time. I also use my Le Creuset pot. The only thing I do differently is place the dough on a large parchment paper before I put it into the pot. I leave the parchment exposed beyond the lid, and it does get a little crispy, but once it's finished baking, I can pull out the bread easily using the parchment. One other thing, I only use King Arthur flour. I've tried several different flour brands, but this makes the best loaf. Thanks again for all the great pictures. Cheers, K

Oh My WORD this is the best ever bread, EVER!!! <3 I will have to throw all those other recipes away now. I went out to Kohl's this morning to get a pot to cook it in, I had nothing here that would work and I wanted it to be successful. Thank you so much for sharing this AWESOME recipe…

Curious as to if anyone has tried a gluten free version of this type of bread… With two children GF, it seems unfair to have this baking all the time… I loved the first loaf is I. Sure I'll be making this often… Thank you!!

Hello. I'm in Honolulu and am having a difficult time getting this bread nice and round. It looks like it rises well, but my finished product is somewhat spread out and the inside of the bread is quite dense and sticky (not raw). The crust is gorgeous. I have made this twice now following the directions to a tee in my new Martha Stewart 6qt enamel coated cast iron pot. Do I need to make any adjustments in the ingredients because of our warmth and humidity here or am i just a failed baker? I'll take any suggestions.

You asked about cleaning your LeCreuset pot. I tried many things and cleaners. Nada. Then just decided to try actual oven cleaner. Be sure tomuse the type for a hot oven. I heat the pot and lid then take to my garage and spray inside and out with the oven cleaner. Let it sit as would I'd cleaning an oven. Wipe and rinse. They came out like brand new.

I haven't read all the comments, so forgive me if this is a duplicate, but I use Bon Ami cleaner on my enameled Lodge dutch oven and it works extremely well. it's gentle enough that it hasn't scratched the enamel but it gets the piece clean!

Liana in South Africa. Your gas oven should work just fine and YES you can try baking in a glass dish with a lid as long as it can take 450F temp. Other's have had success with glass baking dishes. I hope it works for you.

Zesti – I can't believe the parchment was sticking???? That's crazy. I just bake a plain and a cheddar loaf. The plain needed a bit more fussing with. I think adding goodies to the dough gives it more stability and substance.

For Pizza dough – make the dough just like you were making a loaf of bread. Let it sit out for 12-18 hours. Divide into 4 individual balls of dough. Place on a heavily floured surface and let rest for 30 minutes or up to 3 hours. Just gently pull and shape the dough into whatever pizza shape you want. I use a pizza stone. You can see this on my recipe for Potato Rosemary Pizza post.

You are an angel, thank you for your wonderufl recipe that I have not tried yet, but having been baking and cooking, catering for umpteen years, I can see you're a wonderful baker. I wish you were near me, we'd be the greatest friends.I have a rectangular Le Creuset. I will use your recipe and bake in it,but I think it's going to be too large for it. I do have a question, I make orange/cranberry breads for breakfast/tea adding sugar to the dough. Have you tried that? Hope to hear from you. Tanvel

I use Fairy power spray to clean off stained pans and dishes espcially casserole dishes that have been left whilst eating tea, I hope you can get this where you are have a good day p.s. I am starting my loaves tonight thanks for the awesome recipe x

My family and I lived in Germany for 2.5 years and moved back to Texas last April. It was quite an experience but one of the most wonderful parts was the bakeries and fresh bread. The flavors you have here were some of the flavors they had, I am so excited to make this for my husband. They also had olive bread (which was to die for), walnut bread with whole chuncks of walnuts and sweet onion bread. I am so excited to make your bread now, thank you!!!

This looks so VERY fabulous! In terms of cleaning, I don't know if no one has recommended Bar Keeper's Friend yet, but this is what I use to clean all my pans, Le Creuset cast iron and stainless steel alike. It makes them look brand new!

I make my bread in a retired "VISIONS" sauce pan with a lid….you know, one of those brown glass sauce pans that you always see in Goodwill. I have to spray it with veggie oil after heating it up during the preheat and BEFORE putting the dough in it. I am very happy with it while I wait on affording a Le Creuset.

I would think if you oiled it first, you'd have burned oil. As for heating the pan – I believe the directions say don't put a cold pan into a hot over. (It's been a while since I read mine, so might have changed) so putting a cold pan in a cold oven seems like it would work.

I didn't read all the comments ,so I hope this is not a repeat…To clean your pots use baking soda on a plastic scrubber or green (3M) scouring pad. Add a drop of dish detergent if it is very greasy. Voila!

My bread is in the oven right now and smells soooo good! Can't wait for it to be finished! One question, I see you've answered it a few times but Le Crueset makes it very clear to not heat the dry pot. I decided to follow their instructions and I lightly oiled the pot, however even with that, after the 30mins pre heat when I pulled it out there was a strong smell of burnt enamel. I figure this can't be good for the pot or the food that's in it. Any thoughts?

Oh my goodness…this bread is incredible and to think I made it…and it was like you said, soooo easy! I made the cranberry recipe and plan on trying them all. I also made the muesli last night and had it for breakfast and loved it. Thank you, thank you, thank you for being an amazing cook and sharing your recipes with us.

I just took a loaf of bread out of my oven. It smells glorious. This recipe is a keeper. I don't know what I ever did without Pinterest. So many wonderful ideas and recipes. I plan on buying a pot for each of my children for Christmas and I'm adding this wonderful recipe. It will be a wonderful gift. Thanks so much for sharing. I plan on adding a link to your blog from mine. Thanks again!!!!

1. I haven't had any problems using my Le Crueset and baking the bread. One suggestion is to preheat the oven to 450 degrees with the pans in the oven and omit the 30 preheating time. When the oven heats to 450 pop the bread in the pans. It works just as well. My pots have not cracked, or chipped. The look great. In fact in put them through a cleaning cycle in my oven to clean them…they look brand new without any damage to the pots.???? I have never oiled my Le Crueset. ????? Your choice.

2. I have not used bread flour. It contains baking powder. You can try it…why not.

3. I don't know whay you are having problems with your bread. It is a very dense bread, but not heavy like a brick. It's generally very crisp on the outside and soft on the inside, but no light and airy.

Made the cranberry,orange zest,walnut ones.One on a pate Le Creuset pot and another on a small round one. They turned out delicious. I have now bought a 3.5 qt Tramontina cast iron enameled pot at Walmart for $27.oo, as good as the French one, and not payed extraordinary prices.Thanks for the recipes.

I don't have an enamel pot, but I'm curious to know if anyone has tried baking this recipe with a Pampered Chef covered baker? It's stoneware, not cast iron. I may experiment this week to see if it works. I'll let you know the results.

Awesome recipe! (I got here through SuburbanCorrespondent) I tried this bread several times, and it was awesome every time. Kids love it too. But I had to try whole wheat. I find the key to successful (i.e. edible to kids and not too heavy) whole wheat bread is vital wheat gluten. Also, white whole wheat flour, but that is not as critical as vital wheat gluten. I just took my new experiment out of the oven about an hour ago and it's delicious. Not as crusty as white bread (and not as awesome, have to admit that whole wheat will always taste inferior to white), but quite good, especially for those of us who prefer to consume whole grains most of the time. I will still be making white bread from time to time, but I want to play with whole wheat variations. Have you ever tried baking whole wheat with vital wheat gluten?

I've had some success with using wheat in a bread that is very similar to this. What I've learned is that it is important to use a fine-milled whole wheat flour like King Arthur brand. I know– it's expensive– but the way they grind the flour minimizes the 'sharpness' of the wheat kernel pieces so they don't rip through your strands of gluten. That's one reason why wheat bread doesn't rise so well. Also, when using a whole wheat flour or other flour such as rye or spelt, I ALWAYS add at least 2 Tbsp vital wheat gluten to the recipe. Again, this helps with the gluten formation that traps the air bubbles giving the bread a fantastic rise. Happy baking!

1. Thank you so much for your advice with the wheat flour. I like using vital wheat gluten in my whole wheat breads as well. Interesting facts about King Arthur flour. I will try their whole wheat. I usually grind my own, but I can find 5 lb bags of King Arthur whole wheat in local stores. Thanks again for help tips.

2. I would use brine cured olives such as Kalamata. Mmmmm

3. Wow an exploding black knob…that's a new one. Next time try covering it with aluminum foil. Sorry about your lid 🙁

4. Vital wheat gluten is always a good idea when using whole wheat flour.

5. Pampered chef covered stoneware has worked from one of the many comments.

6. Great tip for inexpensive pot at Walmart. Thanks to all the fabulous comments.

I discovered this recipe about a year ago. Loved it but revised it a bit. After it has risen I form it into a ball and pull the dough to the bottom so the top is smooth and tight. I also put a few slits on the top which lets it rise higher. the bottom was way hard so the slits let it expand more and the bottom wasnt as tough. Also my recipe said put it in a cold oven at 450 for 40 minutes. Take off the lid and turn off the oven and let it cook 20 more minutes. The top is smooth and super crusty. Absolutely wonderful!!! LOVE this bread!

I can't wait to try this bread, but thought I would pass on a tip someone gave me to clean my stove burner pans that was amazing and probably would work on the pots too. I put them in a sealed 2 gallon plastic baggie for about 12 hours with a tiny bit of ammonia. All that gunk that I used to have to scrub (and still never really got off) literally just wiped away! It is the ammonia fumes that do the work so I probably had less than 1/4 cup in the bag.

I found a book called Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day. It is great! You can cook it on a stone, and make enough dough for four loaves at a time and keep it in the refrigerator.. I am going to try adding nuts, cranberries, chocolate,etc. It is very similar to your bread, but you don't need a pot.

I absolutely LOVE this bread! I've made about 20 loaves so far (lots of gifts to neighbors & family). I usually make up 3 bowls of batter the night before & bake them one at a time, one right after the other. My house smells wonderful on baking day! I have made Jalapeno-Pepper Jack using 1-2 sliced whole, fresh jalapenos & 1/2 cup shredded pepper jack cheese. Also, Onion-Dill, using 3 T dried onion & 2 T dried dill. I made a Cinnamon-Raisin, but I waited to put the cinnamon in until right before baking. When I placed the batter on a floured board, I covered the top of the dough with cinnamon, then rolled & shaped into a ball. It gave the bread a 'cinnamon swirl'! But your Cranberry-Orange is still the all-time favorite. THANK YOU for posting this recipe!!

There is one problem with this bread! It disappears!!! My family and friends love it! I also wanted to let you know that if anyone has a Pampered Chef Stone baker with lid, it works beautifully too. I have one pot like yours and I took a chance and tried my stone baker because I doubled the recipe and it came out great!!!

This is a wonderful recipe. I have made this bread 3 times already. I never for one moment thought that you were taking credit for this recipe. I have a problem with someone that goes by "Anonymous" seemingly taking a shot. If you want to criticize by all means use your name.Thank you for sharing this recipe. JudyC

An excellent product for removing baked-on grease on your Le Creuset is a product called Dawn Power Dissolver. Just spray it on and let it sit for a while and then rinse the baked-on grease away. It is a very handy product to keep on hand. You can find this product in the dish detergent section of your grocery store.

I have been making this bread in my 5 quart and just got a beautiful 7 qt pan. Do I use the same recipe (amounts) in the 7 vs 5 qt pan??? We love the bread and have added a cup of sour dough starter when I make it, best bread ever.

I made this bread last night! So easy and amazing! I made an Olive and Oregano loaf. I posted my outcome on my blog: http://lemoninlove.blogspot.ca/ and was sure to give you all the credit! Can't wait to make this again!!!

I'm making my second cranberry loaf and can't believe how easy this is and how totally amazing the texture and taste is of something that is not supposed to be this easy. I am a bread maker and I owe you all the credit. Thanks for sharing what has to be a love of cooking. Also, made your muesli and we loved it. Keep bring us these fabulous recipes!

I made your crusty bread today for the first time and it is great. The crust is more chewy than crusty, which i like, but i was wondering if this would be because too low of temperature? I was thinking that it would have a little bit more of a "sourdoughy" taste after sitting out for about 14 hours, would letting it sit longer develop a flavor like that a little bit more do you think?

I made your crusty bread today for the first time and it is great. The crust is more chewy than crusty, which i like, but i was wondering if this would be because too low of temperature? I was thinking that it would have a little bit more of a "sourdoughy" taste after sitting out for about 14 hours, would letting it sit longer develop a flavor like that a little bit more do you think?

Fantastic, thank you for sharing. I bought the enameled Dutch oven specifically to try this recipe. That said, I did add bread gluten, four tsps, and because I decided to go shopping, the dough sat since last night, till this afternoon, perfect results! Foolproof!

This is such a wonderful and easy recipe. i've already made three and plan on putting together a double batch to set over night. i am in love with this. thank you thank you for showing me what i've been spending years trying to figure out!

Thank you all for such great comments. Your bread creations sound amazing and inspire me. I'm so happy so many of your received pots for Mother's Day. Now did YOU purchase the pan or did your wonderful husbands and children?? You have all made my day. Keep the comments and ideas coming.

Hi Janet, I've just mixed up my first loaf and can't wait to cook it tomorrow! I'm already looking ahead to making a flavoured loaf next…do you have any advice on quantities for the add ins? I see you have it listed for the cranberry one…do you have quantities for the ideas you mention? Thx

I know you have so many comments,but I just want to say thank you for bringing this great recipe to all of our attention. This is life changing for a girl like me who loves Parisian Bakery crusy bread. I've always wanted a Le Creuset dutch oven and now I had a really good reason to splurge and get one. Thank you for that too! Using the dutch oven alone for the first time I literally wept. I couldn't believe how good my house smelled while the bread was baking and when it was done it looked just like yours. I'm truly amazed. Thank you so much! My favorite french bakery bread has apricots, almonds, raisins,hazelnuts, etc. I really want to figure out how to add these ingredients. Except then I will be eating the whole loaf. Seriously.

As far as my quantities go, I just throw them in. I should stop to measure. Just give it your best eye and experiment. Do you like your bread loaded and just sparsely dotted with cheese or herbs. I just take a handful and throw it in the flour.

Hi Joy, thank you for sharing your emotional moment with your new dutch oven. I have been seen caressing my Le Creuset – seriously. HAZELNUTS? Why didn't I think of that? I'm going to try your variation. It sounds amazing.

THIS BREAD IS FANTASTIC!! I have made three kinds already, and am ready to try more. I am using a STAUB cast-iron 2.75 qt. dutch oven, and one recipe of bread fits perfectly! Since the bread doesn't stick to the pan, just turn it upside down to remove it. Simple to do, very little time involved, the family loves it!!

I don't have the LeCreuset pot, I just tried with a deep dish Pampered Chef Baker (Stoneware with enamel coating). Baker is a little smaller than 5 qts. so I only put in half the mixture. Came out beautiful. I think I may try the whole recipe next time, seemed to be plenty of room in baker.

Love te recipe, having so much fun. Only change I made was to add four tsp of brea gluten, just because! Now I am on to experimenting with different flavors. I am doing sharp cheddar and salsa. I mixed everything but the salsa, and will add that in tomorrow just before baking. Then I am doing blck kalmata olive bread. Then I will do the lemon one you posted, but will add a bit of lemon oil and reduce the zest. So excited! LW

I made it the other night but I used half bread flour and half wheat flour with a touch more water added, and it turned out great! Thank you for sharing this recipe, I've been reading you comments and I can't wait to try the many different ways that are mentioned here from your readers. Ive been wanting a good crusty bread recipe and have found it.

I just made this for the first time, but had a problem. It wouldn't brown; I cooked it an extra 15 minutes then finally took the top off the pan and browned. I am thinking it is the dutch oven I used, the only pan I own that came close the pan you used. This all being said, the bread is delicious. I added a cup of cheddar cheese! I couldn't wait for it to cool, so just had a big slice of hot bread with butter. I love the thick crust and the light airy bread inside! Yum. Going shopping for a new pan.

Wow what a fun, easy, delicious recipe!!! This was my first attempt at baking bread and now I'm hooked! Thank you for sharing! BTW I used a Pampered Chef stone Dutch oven….worked great! I'll be baking two more loafs in the morning 🙂

Looking forward to making this bread. I have a question about the cooking temperature. The enamel cast iron pan I have has a 425-degree maximum. Any recommendation on extra cooking time? I was thinking 5 – 10 minutes. Thanks for your help.

I just pulled my first loaf out of the oven and it is beyond wonderful! I made an Asiago and Italian herb blend and the taste is perfect! Chewy and tender, just wonderful. I knew it was going to be something special when I pulled the saran wrap off this morning and that wonderful yeasty smell hit me. I can't wait to make my next batch! Thank you so much for the step by step instructions.

I just made this bread today for the first time, and everything turned out as the recipe instructed. However, the bottom of the bread is very dark…almost tasted burned. Have you had this happen? Thanks for any help you can offer! My husband is loving it regardless 😉

Would putting a pizza stone under the pan help – just going creative here. I have yet to try this recipe, but I've baked breads for years.I'll probably wait till fall to bake some more – its 105 degrees here in the shade. Just can't commit to turning on the oven, but might try my Volcano stove if I can't wait.

Good heavens! I am so glad to have bumped into you! The next thing I have to do would be to colour my hair blonde, get an air ticket (am from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia!) and join you when you start your day! :-)………..thanks so much for sharing this X

Madhu, I would love you to start your day with me and you would not have to color your hair blonde. You make me smile.

Anon – I have used fresh basil in the bread before, but I also added other herbs with it, like thyme, chives, basil and parsley. I don't remember the basil looking dark. It was fabulous regardless. Give it a shot I think your combo sounds divine.

I made this for the first time tonight and it turned out awesome! I don't have a Le Creuset (yet!) so I used my Pampered Chef Deep Covered Baker. It worked perfectly. Will absolutely be making this more often! Thanks!!

If you are nervous about the bread sticking, you can place the bread on a piece of parchment paper and just drop the parchment into your baking dish. Bake the bread on the parchment. When the bread it done, just lift the parchment out of the baking dish. Works great. Yes, the parchment browns a bit, but not much.

seriously thank you sooo much for sharing this recipe i made it 2 days in a row second day i made it into garlic bread oo and 3rd day in a row i made cinnimon and raisions(should of added more sugar though i just tossed in a few palm fulls—i feel like i am a genius bread maker now:)

You can use either. My oven can do both radiant bake and convection. I generally use the radiant bake. When using convection or fan forced air just lowed the temperature 25 degrees. So you would bake the bread at 425F or about 218 Celsius.

Way back in the beginning of the comments, someone said she had trouble because it deflated when she made it into the ball and didn't rise much (if at all) while baking. Then she said she re-read the directions and found she forgot to let it rise for 2 hrs AFTER she made it into a ball. I cannot find the instructions for the second rise anywhere in your directions. Could you please clarifY?

Donna – I don't know where the second rise of 2 hours came in. I have never done that for the bread. Don't worry about it. I only let mine rise on a floured surface while the pot is heating. Mine works every time. Good luck.

Brandi – I have not used sprouted grains, but I think it's worth a try.

My bread did not come out as nice as yours. Reviewing the pictures you posted I have to wonder if I should have had more flour so that it would hold it's shape more like a ball before putting in the pot. My dough was still pretty loose, is it possible that if I wait 18 hours that might help? I followed your instructions to the letter. Has this recipe ever been tried in a regular loaf pan? Thank you Debbie

I'm sorry you didn't have the results you wanted. I don't think that the 18 hours makes that much difference. Perhaps adding a bit more flour, maybe 1/4 cup could help remedy the problem. I'm not sure if anyone had used a regular loaf pan or not. The cover on the pot creates a steam oven, which creates the crisp crust. I think it's worth a try. I'm sure someone out there has already tried it. Good luck.

hi. cindy from honolulu. i was having a problem getting my dough to rise. the texture of the crumb was very much like mochi if you've ever had it, if not, it was rather wet. not raw, just wettish. i decreased my water by 1/4 cup because of our humidity and switched to rapid rise yeast. it came out MUCH better. i think i will try decreasing the water by another 1/4 cup and see how that works.

I am so excited for this recipe! I just made my first batch! Well…. its rising right now. I am going to let it sit out over night.A few questions, if you dont mind. I just read all of the comments to see if they have already been answered. – Do you use warm water? Do you ever need add more depending on what you mix in or does it still say the same amount 1 1/2 cups? Also, what are pastry cloths? I have been baking bread for awhile but havent ever heard of them! Thanks so much for taking the time to share these awesome recipes. I found your blog via pinterest. I am off to look at more of your blog! : ) Shannon

Hi this looks great I cant wait to try it.Thanks for posting. I want to say that I have a Green pot like this that I got from TJ Maxx for $39.99. I LOVE it. I keep mine on the stove top all the time because it matches my kitchen and makes me happy! I clean it with a magic eraser sponge if i get a baked on brown mark. It hasn't hurt the outside paint. I dont have to scrub at all!!!!

Hi there, Thanks a bunch for not only sharing this beautiful recipe and fantastically easy method but also accompanying it with crystal clear instructions and super photo's…. Impossible to go wrong!

On the topic of cleaning your babies, I think you have enough tips on how to KEEP them clean. But it's also dead easy to remove years of staining. Just get a bin liner and some ammonia and take those and your pan outside (for maximum ventilation). Place the pan inside the bin liner, add a couple of good slugs of ammonia and twist the liner to close. Leave this for 24 hours and when you take out your pan the next day, you will be able to clean off all stains with ease. No elbow grease or excessive rubbing involved, it will just flake of when you wash the pot.

In fact, this method reminds of the process of preparing the bread… Chuck things together, cover, wait a day and voilá, Bob´s your uncle….. hahahaha…..

I am so excited. I have baked bread for years, always trying to achieve the "artisan" bread that you see in bakeries. Always fell short one way or another. But I just pulled my first loaf from the oven and it looks just like your pictures. Have never used an easier recipe and the Le Creuset pot works beautifully. Have tried spraying my oven with water, using a steam pan in the bottom, etc. but never getting the exact results I hoped for. Now for the final taste test once the loaf has cooled. Thanks so much for sharing this awesome recipe. This will be my go-to recipe from here on out. Can't wait to try adding additional ingredients.

Oh my goodness, I just love reading all of your comments. Thank you so much for all of the great ideas to are sending.

To answer the question regarding my pastry cloth. I purchased the cloth at a local cookware store. It's nothing more than a light canvas. I have purchased canvas at a fabric store, washed it, and used it. Works just great. The cloth holds in the flour. That way not as much goes into the food, but prevents sticking. I love it.

This bread looks fantastic! Question though. Can you think of a way to make it gluten free? I have celiac disease and can't have wheat. I am hoping to find a fantastic bread recipe because I LOVE BREAD!!

Love this recipe! Thank you for sharing! I add gluten as I saw it on the shelf at he store and thought why not. That said, I have one variation tht I add dried cranberries, slivered almonds and lemon oil, oh god I think I have gained five pounds as a result. I did one with sharp cheddar and salsa, and got rave reviews! I am now going to try black olives and feta. Thank you so much!

Ever since I pinned your blog to my Pinterest board I have wanted to try your no-knead bread recipe. But unfortunately I didn't have the dutch oven that I needed. SOOO, as a wonderful surprise my kids bought me the dutch oven from Costco for a Mother's Day/birthday present. I was so excited that I have made 6 double batches. I made cheese cloth bread sack's with "BREAD" embroidered on the side, it made wonderful gift's. I just made another double batch, it is raising as I type this. This time I am experimenting with oats, dried cranberries and cinnamon. Thank you for sharing this wonderful blog!!

First loaf in the oven right now. Added chedder and sprinkled some corn meal on top. Using a clay pampered chef round pot with a glass lid that fit nicely on top. Hoping it works. If not I'll have to hit the store to find one that works. Have you done cinnamon and raisin?

This is a reply for Jen with the Lodge casserole. I have one and put it in the oven when I turn iton to preheat…..when the temperature reaches 450 degrees, I take it out and add the bread dough. My bread turns out great and I have probably made 40 oaves so far. My family and friends all love the bread and I plan on never, ever having to buy bread again. Thank you Janet for posting such a great recipe. This is the easiest, best tasting bread I have ever made.

My friends all think I'm some kind of genius thanks to this recipe. I have very successfully made multiple plain loaves, as well as olive loaves, and one with walnuts and dried cherries. All exceptionally great. I'm planning to make a gruyere and thyme loaf too. Thank you for making me look like such a rock star! If you figure out how to make a wheat version, please do let us know. 🙂

Doodles: I purchased my spatulas from a local cooking store in Utah. I have seen them here and there is cooking shops. I love them and use them for most everything. This isn't much help. I'll check online to see if there is a source for ordering.

oh my goodness … i'm in the last 15 minutes of open baking and can't stand how good it smells and looks. i may just have to do your happy dance 🙂

i too am using the set from Sam's … works beautifully. Made it with orange zest and walnuts (didnt have cranberries … oh well) … the options are amazing! i would not have believed it!!

thank you for sharing with such amazing pictures …

the one thing i needed emphasized was that it is NOT kneaded … I'm a long-time bread baker and it was hard to resist … but glad to see how the loaf is beautiful and crusty because of the extra moisture!

This looks like a recipe my Aunt has been searching for. To clean your Le Creuset pots, try "barkeepers friend", it's great stuff! It's the only way I can keep the inside of mine clean 🙂 You can find it in the cleaning isle at most grocery stores.

I have tried different size pots and like the 3.5 oval the best. The dough fills the pot nicely and makes for a thicker loaf, plus I like the oval shape. The 5.5 round was pretty but the bread didn't have as much height…the same for the 7.5.

I had some problems moderating some comments and accidentally deleted them. I'm so sorry. Don't respond to comments when tired! I will try to anser the questions, but sorry I don't have the actually comment.

-Ivy, Thank you for you comment. It's so good to know a glass dish with a tight fitting lid works. This will help others trying to find a pot. I hope this recipe stands up to your dad's expertise.

-Susan, Yes large holes are normal. In fact you get extract credit for that. That's what I'm always trying to achieve. Some batches are better than others. Good luck on future loaves.

-Gail, I preheat the empty pan in a 450 degree oven for 30 minutes. THEN I add the dough and back an additional 30 minutes. Remove the lid and bake for 15 minutes. I hope this clarified things.

-I have not used bleached flour for this recipe. It's so forgiving that my guess is you can use bleached flour. Why not?

-Debbie,Don't give up. My dough may look stiffer, but it's pretty darn sticky. I find the dough that I add a lot of stuff into will be stiffer than a plain loaf with nothing in it. You may want to add 1/4 cup less water. That just might help. Let me know how your third loaf turns out. Keep trying.

-Thanks for all you comments and tips on cleaning out my pans. They are all so helpful.

What a great recipe! I made one plain loaf- perfect! The next night I added 1 cup cheddar cheese- perfect again except this one stuck to the pot. After we chiseled it out it was delicious, also! Thanks for sharing.

Well, I got over zealous on my first loaf -the Lemon Rosemary Gruyere, and put too much lemon zest in it. The bread looks beautiful, smells wonderful, is crusty, chewy and very good but the lemon gets overpowering real quick. I think it would be good with hot sweet tea, bringing the lemon taste to the tea. This is addictive!

I used 1 cup of rye flour, 1 cup of spelt flour, and 1 cup of whole wheat flour. I also added sunflower seeds, flax seed and sesame. The dough was very runny and watery and I added quite a bit of flour after the dough rose, but now the bread is in the oven, only has a few minutes to go and looks and smells DELICIOUS!

OMG!!!! my bread came out of the oven PERFECT!!! Thank you sooo much!!! I love this and I used a corningware deep dish casserole dish with lid…it is GORGEOUS!!! AND DELISH!!! I added chedder cheese and Rosemary…Cant wait to try your lemon zest and cheese!!!! This is going to be soooo dangerous for me!!! I Love It!!! Thanks again!!!

I didn't go through all the comments, but you can using baking soda on your Le Creuset pots to help clean them. I use it all the time and haven't had an issue with it yet, plus its not toxic which I really like.

I made it for the first time today. It tastes great but I must have done something wrong but I can't figure out what. The bread is only about 1-1/2 – 2" high and full of holes. Not like your photos at all.

The best way I have found to really clean my pots is to put them in my oven through a self cleaning cycle. They were a mess and I was absolutely amazed at how new they looked when I took them out. I removed the knob first then put them in the oven. I was really scared that I would ruin my favorite pots. I have used this method on three of my Le Creuset. They look brand new.

Thanks for sharing your great ideas and bread flavors. I love hearing the success stories.

To the newlywed who used a crockpot to bake the bread – Genius. Way to go!

Donna – try adding 1/4 cup more flour. I hope that helps. I personally love the large holes. They make a great grilled cheese sandwich.

I made this bread last night and i have to say that now this is my new favorite bread. It is the easiest bread to make. I used my Lodge cast iron pan and it came out perfectly and no sticking at all. Next time I make this which will be soon I may try a sundried tomato, garlic and fetta cheese bread….sounds yummy. You will love this bread I promise you that :-)) Enjoy !!!!

As far as a suggestion on how to clean your beautiful pots you may want to try a mixture of hydrogen peroxide ( about $1.00 a brown bottle at WalMart and some fresh baking soda. Make a paste on it . Let it sit a couple hours and scrub it off .It worked beautifully for me on a red enamel fry pan and an old baked on cookie sheet. Very inexpensive and no harsh chemicals.

I made it to the end of the comments woohoo!! I will be trying this hopefully this weekend. My guys love pizza bread so I will be adding pepperoni and cheese to theirs. Then they can dip it in pizza sauce.

My first loaf came out great; I used half white & half white whole wheat. IMy second attempt was the rosemary/lemon/Gruyere. It tastes fabulous! But it stuck so badly the bottom is still on the pan. I did not preheat the pot this time because I read the care instructions for Le Creuset & it does not recommend an empty pot in a hot oven. I think that may be why it stuck. Next time I will preheat the pot for 10 minutes & see what happens. Thanks for your recipe! We love it.

I wanted to Thank you so much for posting this recipe, it was so delicious and wonderful. Seriously so simple to make.. My family loved it. I searched and tried to borrow a cast iron pot. Couldn't get my hands on one, so I simply used my Corning Ware bakeware set (the white ones with clear lid) and to my surprise… it worked just as great! Thanks again!!! Happy Breading!

I have just found this blog (fantastic btw!) and I'm super jazzed – going to try it tonight and bake in the morning. I have 2 enamel cast iron dutch ovens and plenty of yeast & flour! I think I've read through a gazillion comments and hope I'm not asking something that's already been answered. Here's my question-if I let it sit out all night and bake in the morning will it still be fresh & delicious at dinner time?

Penny – you should be just fine letting the bread set out until dinner time. The crust will soften ever so slightly, but it will be easier to cut. Enjoy!

It's so great to hear that Corning Ware works. Thanks for passing it on.

Stephanie – I have resorted to using parchment paper in the bottom of my pan. Works like a charm.

Sophia – I have not tried a baking sheet, but I think covering it with foil just might work. Make sure you crimp the sides down pretty good so that the steam doesn't escape. The steam creates the crisp crust.

Thanks for all the great ideas and helpful hints. It's so great to hear from everyone.

I have loved making this bread!! Thank you so much!! Ive made it 3 times now and its fantastic. A few questions..why the unbleached flour? If I had to use bleached, would it work? If I used unbleached flour, but didnt have any left over for flouring my counter, could I use bleached flour for that? And lastly, I only have one pot, but want to double. Is it ok for the second loaf to sit on the counter shaped while the other cooks?

I only used unbleached flour. I'm sure bleached flour would work just great. Yes, you can use the unbleached on the counter to form your dough and Yes you can absolutely leave one on the counter while the other bakes. Remove the baked loaf and drop in the second dough. Works like a charm. Good luck.

I am thinking about making batches of this and putting in ziploc bags or mason jars and pulling one out adding water when i need a loaf the next day. Sort of like a mix but just pre-mixed. Is there any problem adding the instant yeast to the other ingredients and storing, minus the water of course?

I have been making this for years and a friend taught me one more clever trick she found – let the dough do the final raise on parchment paper and then just lift the parchment paper and place it in the pan – no more mess everywhere! It works so great. Love my LC pans – Costco had them for $79 one year and I got a couple – what a bargain. I can't wait to try some of your variations.

HiJust a quick couple of questions….1. if you use a vegetable such as broccoli (with cheese), would you precook the broccoli first and then would it be okay sitting overnight? 2. what about pepperoni or bacon, would you put it in after it has set up or when first mixing flour, and etc.?Going to try this.

I have never used vegetables or meats in my bread so I'm not an expert in that area. Hmmm broccoli I think I would leave it raw. There will be a quite a bit of steam action going on during the bread baking which should take care of cooking the broccoli. I think as far a bacon goes I would precook it then it should be ok sitting in the dough. I think someone out there had tried it, but they didn't specify when they added the meats. Sorry I'm not a ton of help here.